Calgary Flames general manager Jay Feaster placed the blame for much of the team’s woes on his shoulders: “If it’s anybody’s fault, then it’s my fault. I should have had the intellectual honesty even earlier and said this isn’t working.”

In the wake of pedalling Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues – five days after dealing captain Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins – the general manager stepped up Monday night and said he was the one who missed the signs of an aging team on the decline.

“I didn’t want to be the guy to trade Jarome Iginla,” Feaster said. “I didn’t want to be the guy who is trading Bouw.

“But the reality of it is, if it’s on anybody, if it’s anybody’s fault, then it’s my fault. I should have had the intellectual honesty even earlier and said this isn’t working.

“So shame on me, but I’m making sure we’re going to correct that going forward.”

Feaster also apologized to his players twice for making them report to the rink twice in one week, only to find out one of their big-name teammates was on the way out.

Last Wednesday, the team scratched Iginla just prior to a game against the Colorado Avalanche and then dealt him to Pittsburgh at 11:25 p.m. On Monday, the players arrived at Rexall Place around 5 p.m., only to find Bouwmeester’s stall cleared out.

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